O.M.G.!
Mad Decent 

Ridiculous and unnecessary chat-speak aside, it seems “Oh my God” is all one can accurately say upon first listen of Brit beat-master Rusko’s newest album.

Belonging to the London-based electronic dance genre dubstep, he mixes a hearty concoction of music and production styles to make each of the fourteen tracks their own journeys. But be sure to pay attention, because it gets overwhelming. “Hold On,” featuring Dirty Projectors crooner Amber Coffman hints at old school R&B, while “Rubadub Shakedown” has reggae touch complete with a two-toned beat, and “Kumon Kumon,” which is a straight-up jungle track complete with monkey shrieks.

With production effects featuring morphed voices, sirens, and the darting of laser beams layered above synth track, it’s hard to tell whether the sporadic mish-mosh of sounds on the album was premeditated by Rusko, or if it was simply random.  Credited as a kingpin of dubstep after his breakthrough track “Cockney Thug” in 2008, you can’t help but hope that a little thought went into the album. 

Although each track seems to go on cluttered, beat-filled tangents, “Got Da Groove,” featuring Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane, and “Feels So Real,” which sounds like you’re stuck in a ‘90s R&B throwback, are stand out tracks. But O.M.G.!’s wavering bass and repetitive beats become too much. It seems that eventually the urge to dance is overthrown with the feeling of dazing into space with your mouth wide open. But again, maybe that’s what he was going for.

by — Alicia Fiorletta